202 ON THE CAPEIFICATION OF THE FIG. 



on the contrary, I believe that it never does ; for looking with 

 attention, I have observed it make its vvay from scale to scale, 

 sometimes unable to overcome the resistance they oppose, nor 

 ever breaking through any of them to clear its way ; and these 

 scales examined under the microscope showed no injury from 

 the passage of the insect. But supposing the fly to have pierced, 

 or otherwise injured some scale or other, it does not follow 

 thence that the fig must ripen earlier, when we often see it 

 injured or gnawed away in some places — ants often enlarge the 

 mouth and carry away the scales — and yet these injured fruits 

 either never ripen earlier, or very rarely so, and that from other 

 causes. That puncture and oil liasten the maturity is proved by 

 experiment, but this puncture operates in a different manner, in 

 my opinion, from that which insects make into the ovaries of 

 pears and apples to deposit their eggs. For amongst the pears 

 and apples containing insects' eggs, some, whilst they are grow- 

 ing and still acid, become diseased and fall, others continuing to 

 grow like those that are not touched, become soft when the grub 

 issues from tlie egg and commences feeding on the pulp ; and 

 this pulp is then sometimes, but not always as some believe, of a 

 good flavour. But the fig in the above-mentioned experiment 

 does not ripen from the puncture, but from the oil, as the same 

 effect is produced by putting a little on the mouth of the fig. 

 How it produces that effect on the fig is unknown to me ; being 

 put on the mouth it contracts it, then gradually the oil spreads, 

 and wherever it reaches the dark green colour of the epidermis 

 changes to a bright green. I thought I perceived that it did 

 not affect the milky juice in the least, but rather impeded eva^ 

 poration or other functions of the epidermis, as well in respect of 

 light as of air, and that on that account the anointed fig com- 

 menced ripening from the base, and was inferior in flavour to 

 those ripened naturally. But to return to the case of the fly : it 

 neither pierces nor gnaws the substance of the fig, and if it 

 inserts its eggs into the ovary, which I can neither affirm nor 

 deny, it is certain that notiiing is born from them ; but I am 

 inclined to think that it does not even pierce the ovary, as it 

 does not prevent the formation of the embryo, and the difference 

 between the fig and the caprifig is very great. 



§ 11. Action of fruits which are I'ipe and in a state of decom- 

 position upon those which are young and sour. 



In making my experiments on caprification, as I was at a loss 

 to conceive in what manner, visible or concealed, the fly operated, 

 it occurred to me that possibly the caprifig flower-heads sus- 

 pended to the fig tree and rotting there, might possibly by their 

 close proximity to the sound figs, excite in them some similar 

 alteration which might bring on a premature softening. This 



